ToGetHer
by loveischerrie
Summary: AU.Riku likes Daisuke who likes Risa who likes Dark. When Risa starts to date Daisuke just to get to Dark, Riku takes desperate measures and pretends to date Dark to teach Risa a lesson. But somehow, along the way, Riku isn't pretending anymore...
1. Chapter 1

**ToGetHer**

**Chapter One**

**_a/n: _**_So this is my new DN Angel fic to replace Exchange Love, which was not going to go anywhere. And this title is from a drama, but this story has nothing to do with it. I do hope people enjoy this. I have a feeling I will like writing this fic._**  
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* * *

You know, I am not a person who can hate my sister. She's my twin; I mean, we shared a cramped womb for nine months together. It's impossible to not love someone who has a connection like that with you. So Risa is someone I love dearly.

But that does not mean that I don't want to kick her for being so unbelievably heartless.

Not just kick, but literally beat down with a pillow filled with rocks.

This all started when we started out first year of high school.

* * *

"Riku, wait up!" Risa called to me as we made our way to school. She had taken her sweet time styling her hair, so I left five minutes earlier. Naturally, she panicked.

"I told you I was going to leave if you didn't hurry," I scolded. She was like a little kid sometimes…

Risa's lips pouted cutely. Time to squish that thought. That's like calling me cute. We are twins after all, just with different hairstyles.

"It's our second day of high school—just because you don't feel like dolling up doesn't mean I won't either," she said matter-of-factly.

She flipped her hair behind her shoulder for emphasis. Again, she had a point. Despite us having the same face, our personalities were far too off base, which showed. Risa was the girlie, flashy twin. I was the logical and tomboyish one. Usually, I don't have a problem with this at all.

"Harada-chan, Harada-san! Good morning!" another voice called to us. Risa and I both turned to see Niwa-kun running toward us waving like a fool.

I'm Harada-san. Risa is the one with the "chan" suffix.

I never had a problem with Risa being the pretty, girlie twin until I started to like Niwa Daisuke.

It all started when we were in middle school. During our second year, I began to like him. Don't ask me how it happened. All throughout our first year, he was nothing more than some clumsy, happy-go-lucky guy with wild red hair. After we became friends and started talking and spending time together I noticed that he was kind…and strong…and very loyal…

I tried to confess once. But then he told me something very important. His "most important" secret.

"I really like your sister! But don't tell her, okay. I want to properly chase her when we get to high school."

It was then that I learned what heartbreak really meant.

I mean, Niwa-kun is my friend, and Risa's friend too, and I care for them both. If they started going out, I wouldn't mind. Granted, it would hurt more than 5000 stab wounds, but I'm not one to stop love.

However, there is another problem.

"Oy, Daisuke, you forgot this," a more masculine voice stated. The owner of such a voice walked up to Niwa-kun to hand him his bento. He smirked as he put his hands into his pockets, as if he knew something no one else knew.

"Oh, thanks Dark-nii," Niwa-kun chuckled with embarrassment. Risa also blushed, but for a different reason.

"Good morning Dark!"Risa greeted with too much enthusiasm, her face flushed. "You look good today!"

Yep, Risa liked Mousy Dark, Niwa-kun's older half-brother. His third year of high school, arrogant, playboy, shameless flirt and pervert, older, half-brother.

"Thanks, you're looking cute Risa-san," he winked. I could not help but roll my eyes. Niwa-kun looked a little pained that Risa was pleased by the compliment. It was pitiful, seeing him stare at my sister with longing.

She was not the only one being stared at by a Niwa. That Dark was looking at me like he was expecting something. Oh, right. I didn't greet him.

"Morning, sempai," I said as I continued to walk. Sempai walked beside me.

"Eh, Riku-chan, when you say it like that it sounds so cold."

"Don't say my name as if we're close, sempai. And I'm addressing you accordingly," I told him. He only laughed and ruffled my hair. Niwa-kun and my sister passed us, only a few feet in front of us. I couldn't catch what they were talking about.

"When will you start calling me Dark?" he asked, ducking away as I was about to hit him.

After thinking about it, I gave him the most unlikely situation.

"The day I actually love sempai." I smirked myself. This took him by surprise. His red-violet eyes grew wide, and then he grinned.

"Is that so?" He looked at me in a weird way, I couldn't figure it out.

Thankfully, another sempai, Krad, called him as we neared the school at this point. Sempai waved then looked at me.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Riku-chan," he exclaimed before joining Krad-sempai. I shook my head and walked faster to Risa and Niwa-kun.

"Ah, I have to talk to Satoshi about something, I'll see you both in class," he said before running off inside.

"We better go in too, Risa."

I would have walked in too, had my sister not grabbed my wrist. I turned to look at her and panicked. She wore an uncharacteristic serious look on her face.

"Riku…you…do you and Dark have something going on?"

_What?!_

"What?! No!" Really, how could she think of something so ridiculous?

"Then why is he always flirting with you?"

I decided to continue this conversation inside. "Is that flirting? I always thought of it as harassment."

"Riku, I'm serious!" I put on my indoor shoes as she said this, then she too changed her footwear. "It's been like that since middle school! He always flirts with you, and plays with your hair! You're the only person he uses 'chan' on!"

_Well, you're the one Niwa-kun calls chan , but you don't see me making a big deal out of it. _I wanted to tell her that, but it was not really fair. She didn't know I liked him.

"It's because I don't fawn over him like the rest of the female population does." I motioned for us to get to our class. "He is the type who likes what he cannot have. I highly doubt he actually is serious about the flirting."

"Something he can't have?" she repeated. I nodded.

Her face then changed again, a complete jubilant expression took over. Suddenly, I was stacked by her hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Riku! You just gave me the best idea!" she said before skipping inside the class room.

"That was weird," was all I could say before I actually entered the room as well.

* * *

I didn't think much about Risa's weird behavior until lunch time. we were all in the class room, eating the lunches I made with some of our other friends.

"Everyone, this is the year I become Dark's girlfriend!" Risa said this with such certainty. I ignored her. She had been saying this since we were twelve when Dark-sempai had just begun high school. And no doubt, she would talk more about him at home.

"Yeah, sure," Chiaki, our friend, rolled her eyes. The other girls laughed too. "Dark-sempai is super popular; he's like the idol of our school. Every girl wants to be his girlfriend!"

"But he never has one. He dates around but never gets serious," another friend, Aya spoke up. Risa shook her head.

"No! Riku gave me the perfect idea on how to snatch him up!" she explained. Say what, now? This was news to me.

Everyone looked at me.

"I have no idea what she's talking about."

Risa only smiled. "I'll show you."

She stood up, and walked towards Niwa-kun, Satoshi, and Saehara-san. Then in a loud, confident voice, she spoke, "Daisuke, let's be boyfriend-girlfriend."

I dropped my chopsticks.

So did everyone else in the class: Aya, Chiaki, Satoshi, Niwa-kun…

"What…what?" I stammered.

Niwa-kun looked as if he won the lottery. He nodded furiously and in the most thankful and happiest voice he responded, "Yes, Harada-chan!"

"Wait…what?" I still could not wrap my mind around it.

* * *

I was still confused by it. On our walk home, they held hands, and walked in front of me. I could only stare at their intertwined hands with confusion. The looks Risa was giving Niwa-kun were mind boggling. He looked at her like she was goddess, which was nothing new. But Risa was acting as if…as if…

As if Niwa-kun was sempai.

I don't know how long I sat on my bed trying to make sense of this. Finally, I could not take it anymore. I ran to Risa's room, not bothering to knock.

"What the hell is going on?!" I demanded. Risa only looked at me from her romance manga.

"Riku?"

"You and Niwa-kun! I don't get it! I thought you liked sempai!"

"I do."

Wait…what?

"Huh?"

Risa looked at me as if I were a child that needed to be explained the basic things of life. She closed her manga and looked at me.

"You told me today that Dark liked what he could not have."

"I don't see how that pertains."

"Don't you see, Riku? I am now someone he can't have!"

"…I…still don't follow." Maybe my poor sister was insane.

"No, look. When Dark sees me around Daisuke all the time—and he will, since they are brothers—after all, he'll realize how much he truly wants me. Not only am I off the market, I am with his brother. I am the ultimate taboo—the one he cannot possibly have."

Oh. My. God.

Risa was insane.

"Let me get this straight." I rubbed my temple; this was headache inducing. "You like sempai, and the only way sempai can notice you is to date Niwa-kun, his brother. And when sempai shows interest in you, you will forget about Niwa-kun?"

"Yes!"

No, she was worse.

"Risa, that is sick," I told her with disgust. She only scoffed and sat on her bed.

"You get it, but you really don't understand."

"I understand that you're only using Niwa-kun!" I yelled. "That's not fair, Risa. He really likes you—he adores the ground you walk on! If you asked him to kill someone for you, he would. He likes you that much. And you're only toying with him?! You better stop this, Risa."

"Or what?" she said with defiance. "You planning on telling Daisuke?"

There was an idea. A real bad one. A very pained face entered my mind…

"No, I wouldn't do that to Niwa-kun. He'd be heartbroken."

"Then I don't see the issue," Risa spoke and she put her covers over herself.

"What you're doing is wrong and unfair, Risa! That's the issue!" Why was I not getting through her?!

"All is fair in love and war. And this is my love we're talking about, so butt out!"

I went back to my room in a rage. Deciding that I would end up killing her if I didn't release my frustration, I ran outside, and kept running until I got out of breath.

Risa was wrong in what she was doing, and I needed to do something back. I wanted to beat her with a pillowcase filled with rocks, but I had the notion that even then she would not learn her lesson.

And she needed to learn her lesson.

Because yes, I love Risa.

But I loved Niwa-kun, and I cannot stand by and watch him get hurt.

Which is how I ended up outside the Niwa's house.

"Hey, Niwa-kun,"I greeted when he answered the door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," he said as he let me inside. He looked at my attire—booty short and a T-shirt, which is what I usually, wore to bed. I didn't have time to do anything except put on some sneakers. "Is something wrong?" he asked with concern.

"No…I just…"This was going to be hard to say. "…I just…needed to talk to sempai."

"Dark-nii?!" Niwa-kun's eye's widened in shock. Funny, I felt the same way.

"Me?" a low voice asked from the stairs. There was sempai, his violet hair askew, wearing only some black pajama pants and black wife-beater. Risa would have loved this sight. Me…not so much.

"Yeah," I nodded. It's kind of important.

"Sure, we can talk in my room," he smirked, walking back upstairs. I intended to follow him if Niwa-kun hadn't grabbed my wrist. I felt my face blush.

"Harada-san, is everything really okay?" he asked again.

"Yeah, why do you keep asking?" I replied, still cheerfully. Niwa-kun released my wrist, unfortunately.

"It's just…you never willingly want to talk with Dark-nii. Ever," he explained gravely. I only laughed nervously.

"It's really important," I told him before nearly running up the stairs.

Sempai's room was labeled, so I only had to knock and walk in after he said "It's open."

His room was very neat, which surprised me for some reason. It was also very blue and black, and normal. The only thing that was unique about it was that he had a wall with tons of photos taped to it.

"My pictures," he explained, noting my gaze. I looked at him and he pointed to a large, expensive looking camera. "I'm into photography."

"Oh," was all I could say. He mentioned me to sit on his bed while he sat on his desk chair. I decided to best sit on the floor. He chuckled as if he expected me to do so.

"So, what is it that Riku-chan needs from me?" he asked, his eyes brimming with curiosity.

Almost, almost I backed out on my personal mission.

Because this was the last thing I ever wanted to ask from him of all people.

But then I remembered Niwa-kun's happy face when Risa asked him out. And Risa's plan. I lved her, but she needed to be thought a lesson.

And she even said, "All is fair in love and war."

And my love with Niwa-kun would not allow something like this to happen.

"Sempai, I want you to be my boyfriend!"

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_a/n: reviews are appreciated!_


	2. Chapter 2

_**ToGetHer**_

**_Chapter Two_**

**_a/n:_**_ lalala,new chapter. Chances are, I won't be updating as quickly. Just as warning. Don't be fooled by this quick one!!!_

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"Sempai, I want you to be my boyfriend!"

The look on his face was priceless.

I mean, thinking about it, I was probably the last person in the entire world who would ask something like that from him. So he was naturally shocked. Me? I was embarrassed about the whole situation. I mean, I didn't even like the pervert, but I was here asking for his help because really, he was the only one who could actually help me help his brother. My pride was taking a severe beating.

"R-Riku-chan?" Dark said in a weird voice. For once, he didn't look arrogant or confident like he always did, but something else instead. I couldn't describe the look in his eyes.

"For pretend, I mean!" I continued. "I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend."

He sighed heavily and his face fell. Was he disappointed? No, I must be imagining things. What would he have to be disappointed about?

"I don't follow, care to explain?" he asked with his usual flirtatious smile. I made a face.

"I need to teach my sister a lesson."

"How come?"

"Did you hear that she and Niwa-kun are going out?" I asked him, unsure if Niwa-kun and he talked much about this kind of thing.

"Yes, Daisuke did mention it at dinner today," he spoke as if that was trivial information. Well, maybe it was to him.

"Well, she has no real feelings for him," I explained. At this point, he got off his desk chair and sat in front of me on the floor. I inched away a little. I could not trust him being so close to me. "So I want her to learn that it's not right to use people."

"Like how you plan to use me," he smirked. I flushed.

"That is beside the point!" I shot back, he only chuckled.

"Tell me, why go through all this trouble for my brother?" Dark asked me, his eyes being very smothering. While he was this close, I was starting to understand the appeal he had on girls like my sister. That is not to say _I _was starting to feel that way. I was just beginning to understand. Those eyes had something to do with it.

I blushed at his question. "He's my friend."

"But you don't want him to be," he stated very simply and…sadly?

"What do you mean?" I asked, fully aware of what he meant. He looked at me as if he knew I was bluffing.

"You like my brother, Riku-chan." Again, this was not a question, it was a statement. I really turned red at this and stood up defiantly. I looked down at him while he saw on the floor without a care or realizing that he voiced my big secret out loud.

"If you say anything to Niwa-kun—" I started but he stood up as well. Wow, he was much taller than me. Way, way taller.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he assured me. "I just don't know if I approve of you choosing my brother over your own sibling."

Excuse me? Who was he to talk about morals? And what did he know?

"I am doing this for my sister! Risa has to learn that she can't toy with a person's feelings!"

"And you aren't planning to do the same?"

"This and that are different. Niwa-kun actually _cares_ for her!"

"You shouldn't assume things, Riku-chan," he said to me darkly. I scowled. He seemed to have lost his good humor.

"Fine, forget I even came here. If you won't help me, I'll find someone else." This was a complete bluff, but he did not have to know that.

"I didn't say I was not going to help," he stopped me. "I'm just making you aware of how I am seeing this situation."

This shut me up. I briefly wondered if I was even doing the right thing. But I saw Niwa-kun's happy face when Risa asked him to be his boyfriend. How terrible would it be to find out that she was only doing that to get to Dark?

"I am aware. So you will help me?" I asked tentatively. Dark gave me a wink before grinning like a maniac. He walked up to me and grabbed a strand of my hair, playing with it. Really, if he was not going to stop, I was going to kick him with all my might.

"Sure. I'll be your boyfriend. I wouldn't pass up such an opportunity." His eyes closed, nose in my hair, breathing it.

"Great," I said.

The kicked him.

* * *

I managed to avoid Niwa-kun on my "Escape the Niwa Household." Dark laughed off my kick—which made me just want to punch him, but his fangirls would most likely try to kill me for damaging his face—and said I should just go out through his window ("It's a little romantic that way, don't you think, ha-ha? Ah—no kicking your boyfriend, Riku-chan!"), so I did and snuck back into my room through my own window. This was good, since in the off chance Risa was awake, I did not want to see her either.

But on our way to school, it was going to be different. Both of us were waiting for her "boyfriend" to pick us up so that the "couple" could walk together. Naturally, I could not avoid Niwa-kun and Risa forever, considering one is my crush and friend, and the other is my twin sister.

"You're not going to say anything to Daisuke, are you?" Risa said as we both waited outside our house gates. We stayed clear from each other while we were getting ready. It was a little weird and sad; we rarely fought.

"I told last night, didn't I?" I reminded her. "I wouldn't do that to Niwa-kun."

"Good…and I am sorry that we fought." She looked at me with big, doe eyes that made me feel guilty. Unfair! I wondered if I could do that.

"So am I, but don't get me wrong. I don't plan on letting you think that using Niwa-kun to get to sempai is okay, because it's not."

"Sure, sure," she patronized me. Oh Risa, I love you, but sometimes, I want to choke you…

"Good morning, Risa-chan, Riku-san!" Niwa-kun greeted us. Both Risa and I had our mouths open in shock.

Oh, it was not because of Niwa-kun. We knew he was going to show up. It was his older brother that completely surprised us—floored us, most likely.

That Dark Mousy was just behind Niwa-kun, his hair messy but in that cool way and his eyes filled with mischief. He wore his uniform in a loose way that made him look like a bad boy along with a smirk that completed the look. Dark Mousy never walked with us to school. Yesterday was a rare occurrence and only happened because Niwa-kun forgot his lunch. Obviously, my sister and I were wondering why he decided to grace us with his presence this morning.

Niwa-kun sensed our confused and shocked vibes because he went, "Dark-nii insisted on coming along with us." Then he went up to Risa and offered her his hand but not without giving me a suspicious look.

"Dark is walking with us?" Risa asked excitedly. You think she thought he was a god. She probably did. We came from the same womb, but obviously, she contracted something that I didn't while we were both in there…

"Why wouldn't I? A guy should walk together with his girlfriend, don't you think?" he said as he threw me a wink.

Oh, if looks could kill, Risa would have successfully murdered me. It took me a while to understand what was going on, but then I realized that this was part of "our" plan. I did ask him to pretend to be my boyfriend, so instead of going with my gut reaction, which was to hurl, I tried to smile and walked up to him.

"Um…thanks for coming to walk to school with me," I said this as sweetly as I was capable of. Which was not very.

That didn't matter to him though; Dark only grabbed a lock of my hair like he did last night and closed his eyes. "Anything for my girl."

Oh God, I was seriously going to throw up. Did he have to be so cheesy?

"Let's go, Daisuke!" Risa demanded, dragging Niwa-kun by his hand to walk—very forcefully, I may add—in front of us. Dark let go of my hair and winked again. Then he grabbed my bag with one hand, and wrapped his other arm around my shoulder, then proceeding to lead the way to school.

All things considering, it was not a bad walk to school with sempai. He didn't say anything to me which I was grateful for: I highly doubted I would be able to keep up a conversation considering that his actions were making me both nauseous and flustered. Also, it was hard to figure out how to keep up our whole charade since I've never had a boyfriend before. I didn't know how to act as a girlfriend at all, which was unnerving and terrible to think about since Dark was the world's biggest flirt in the world. Girls were always cutesy and feminine around him, and I was so not. I didn't plan on changing my ways either.

When we finally got to school, Risa did something that almost made me stumble into school. She kissed Niwa-kun.

On the cheek.

Not as dramatic, I know. But still, it was enough to make _me_ and Niwa-kun blush. She gave me a look, and I didn't know what to say. Luckily, Dark had other plans.

As soon as he gave me my bag, he kissed me.

On the lips.

A lot of things crossed my mind during his kiss.

One: there were a ton of girls screaming.

Two: Risa left after she looked like she was about to cry.

Three: that this was my first kiss. My _first _kiss.

He was going to _die_!

"Ah! Pervert!" I yelled as I slapped him. More people gasped but this did not seem to unnerve him. Instead, he wrapped his arms around me.

"Ah, you're still so shy around others, Riku-chan!" He exclaimed happily. He was having fun with this. He was actually having _fun_! "That's okay; it only makes you a lot cuter!"

He let me go, and I could feel the girls present seething in anger.

"Not that I mind really, but was the slap necessary?" he asked pleasantly.

I was very red. I stammered out, "My f-f-first…that was my first…"

"Your first kiss?" he asked incredulously. That bastard looked very pleased with himself. "Well, that is amazing! I feel honored that I was your first kiss."

Dear Lord, I was going to murder him. I could not even say anything to him, I just glared.

"But you realize for this to be believable, there will be some kissing involved," he explained in a merry manner. "This may be your first kiss, but I assure you it won't be the last."

I could tell he meant it too.

The bell rang and more students were heading inside. He flicked my nose a little and grinned.

"Let's walk home together, okay?"

I was very late for class. I must have stood out there in shock for at least fifteen minutes.

* * *

I was not looking forward to talking to Risa, but I figured she would corner me some way or another. After enduring an entire morning of, "You're so lucky, Riku-san!" and "I am so jealous!" I was about ready to sleep. My friends were the only who didn't say anything, whether it was because of Risa's anger or because they were completely taken off guard by it. After all, I was the only who was generally uninterested in Dark Mousy. I had a feeling it had something to do with both. While changing for P.E., Risa did manage to get me alone; everyone else had finished changing and she took her sweet time getting ready. We were both there in our gym clothes, staring at each other.

"I thought you did not like Dark," were her first words.

"You don't like Niwa-kun," I stated as indifferently as possible.

"So you're using Dark to get back at me?" she asked bewilderedly.

"Yep, just like how you are using Niwa-kun to get _my _boyfriend." Maybe I went a little too far in placing the emphasis. It was bizarre saying myself that Dark was my boyfriend. Pretend boyfriends, I mean. Risa fumed.

"Then aren't you being a little hypocritical?" she said angrily.

"I'm just making sure you don't succeed," I told her. Suddenly, she smirked.

"Oh, I will succeed. And since you are just using him, I won't feel bad about stealing him away," she declared. "All's far in love and war, don't you forget Riku. And right now, we are in war."

She went to P.E. and I could only stare at the floor sadly. All's fair in love and war. I knew that. Why else would I go to such drastic measures?

It looks like I declared war on my sister the moment Dark agreed to me.

* * *

"You don't look pleased." The pervert said the moment he saw me after school. As it was in the morning, a bunch of students (mostly of the female variety) were staring at us. Risa and Niwa-kun had already started to walk home, and I was staring at my supposed boyfriend wondering if I should punch him or yell at him.

"What is _this_?" I pointed at his motorcycle. He was on it of course, and had a helmet in one hand that I guessed was for me.

"I thought we ought to leave in style," he replied casually with his confident smile.

"Have you lost your mind? I'm not getting on that thing!" I said hurriedly, never mind that he must have skipped his last class to get this in time for us to go home. He only chuckled and got off his bike.

Then he placed the helmet on my head and carried me, heading toward his bike. I kicked and screamed the whole time, but he didn't seem fazed by it. Rather, he was amused.

"You're lucky you wear shorts under your school skirt, or else I'd see your panties." He smirked at me. I blushed furiously.

"Pervert!" I spat as he sat me down. He quickly got back on and wrapped my arms around his waist. With a purr from his bike, we took off.

It was not as bad as I feared. Granted, while we were fast, Dark seemed to be holding himself back. He must have taken me into consideration while driving, because he seemed completely focused. He made the ride pleasant to be quite honest. Which was good, because I was trying to distract myself from thinking about how defined his abs and other muscles felt under my arms.

We did not stop at any of our homes, but he took me to the beach. The whole place was empty so we were by ourselves. It was relaxing, the silence. I smiled and took in some fresh air. I turned to him and saw that he pulled out a blanket from his school bag. He sat down promptly and patted the spot next to him, asking me to join. I contemplated about it for awhile. Finally, deciding I didn't want to wash sand from my butt later, I sat down, begrudgingly, next to him. He seemed very pleased with himself.

"I hoped you'd be happy with a small trip to the beach. I would figure you wouldn't have the best of days," he said. Wow, he was good at reading me. I was not having the best of days.

"Well, I've had better days," I replied, playing a little with the sand in front of me. "Risa and I are at war."

"I thought it'd happen like that."

"Did you?" I asked. I was hoping things wouldn't happen like that.

"Of course, Risa-san likes me," he said, again, with no consideration for other people's feelings.

"How do you know?" I asked incredulously.

"I told you before, I can tell about these things." He smiled at me. "That's why she's dating my little brother. I don't understand her reasoning, though. I wouldn't touch my little brother's girlfriend. To be honest, I wouldn't go after Risa even if she wasn't."

I smiled. "Looks like sempai has more dignity that I thought."

He laughed loudly. "But it seems like she is the better girlfriend," he noted, to my dismay. "From what I can tell, she would not slap me if I kissed her."

My face turned red again. I hugged my knees.

"To be fair, that was my first kiss. It took me off guard." I stared at the sand. It was suddenly very interesting.

"So you never had a boyfriend before me?" he asked, again, a bit surprised.

"That's right." I buried my face in my hands and let out a muffled scream. "This is pathetic! My first boyfriend is not even real!"

"You know, things are going to be a lot more difficult, but I'll do my best to be Riku-chan's best boyfriend," he told me warmly.

I felt uneasy. Suddenly, it was not fair that he was the only one going through all the trouble for me.

"Sempai, I have another favor." I looked at him seriously. "Teach me how to be a good girlfriend."

He stared at me and then chuckled.

"Lately, the things you've been asking me have me going crazy," he muttered, his eyes closed.

"Sempai, I am serious. If this is going to be believable, I have to act like a proper girlfriend!"

"Like act like yourself. That's enough for me." He looked at me with those smothering eyes. I shook my head.

"I can't go around slapping you when you act like a boyfriend!"

He thought about that for a while. "You have a point."

"Exactly! So teach me how to kiss!"

"Wh-what?" he stuttered, his eyes widened in shock. "You want me to kiss you."

"I don't have much experience in that department," I spoke softly, blushing like a mad woman. "But I want to do this right. So please, will you?"

"You really are planning to drive me crazy," he spoke seriously. I did not understand what he meant by that.

"If you won't then I'll find someone else!" I said angrily. Again, bluffing, but he did not have to know that.

"You will not!" he yelled darkly. I stared in shock. "Fine, I will show you, but know what you're asking for."

"Of course I kn—!"

I couldn't finish what I was going to say because he was kissing me.

I don't know much about kissing being that I've never kissed anyone before, but from what I could tell now, kissing was _nice_. At least, Dark was making it nice. He was kissing me in a way that made it electrifying. It was as if he was hungry for a long time, and finally, he was being fed. He kissed me with passion and want, and other emotions I could not grasp. I kissed back, and that only seemed to fuel his need. He made me feel like he wanted me for a long time. As if without me, life was pointless.

This was bad.

I was now realizing why girls liked kissing Dark so much.

That is not to say I have feelings for him or anything!

I'm just saying that I am realizing a couple things, that's all.

Like that Dark Mousy was a _real good _kisser.

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**_a/n: _**_lalala, reviews are appreciated, lalala_


	3. Chapter 3

_**ToGetHer**_

_**Chapter Three**_

_**a/n: **__Couple things!_

_The title ToGetHer, to those who have caught on, it totally is a play on the word "together."To Get Her can mean for Riku to get back at Risa, or Dark trying to get Riku, or Daisuke trying to get Risa. And Riku and Risa have always been together on many things, so I thought that the title was fitting. _

_It matters not to the story, but Dark is Daisuke's half brother, Emiko's son from before marrying Daisuke's papa. Again, this matters not at all to the story until I decide it will be, but it explains why they have different last names._

_Okay, enjoy~_

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I don't even remember how I made it to my room in one piece. Oh, Dark did not try anything, it's just that his superb kissing skills really took me by surprise—even though they shouldn't have, given his reputation—so I lost track of time and my own personal will. That pervert ended up kissing me for an hour. An _hour_! How time managed to pass me by, I'll never know. But when I did realize it, he looked pretty damn proud of himself, and I did not even want to know what was going through his mind. Feeling completely embarrassed and red like a cherry, I demanded he take me home, and he merrily obliged. However, the moment he left me at my house he called out to me.

"You're a good kisser, Riku-chan!" he exclaimed, a smirk on his face very prominent, even as the sun was setting. "I'll see you tomorrow morning!"

I wanted to murder him for yelling that out, but luckily, my parents weren't home as usual, so it's not like I was faced with awkward questions. Though I had a nagging feeling Risa saw the whole thing. She did not mention anything about it, however, as she had taken it upon herself to ignore me, which is what I expected. Still, it hurt very much, and I realized how much I missed my sister.

_This is all for Niwa-kun, all for Niwa-kun, _became my mantra and was the only thing that allowed me to sleep at night.

In the morning, as promised, Dark showed up on his normal bike, rather than his motor one. Niwa-kun was there for my sister, who followed through with yesterday's plan of giving me the cold shoulder and ignored me fully as we were getting ready. Not that I minded too much because I was too busy making lunches.

I know, it sounds far-fetched, but I made Dark and I lunches.

Well, I figured it was the least I could do, being that he was helping and all. So I was trying to lessen the guilt I had for using him, even though he was fully aware of being used. Plus, I ended up reading a couple of Risa's manga for references on how to be a better girlfriend, and about ninety-nine percent of them had the girl give the boy she likes or was going out with lunch. The more believable the relationship Dark and I were having, the better.

Of course, because he is Dark, he was very enthusiastic about making fun of me while I was trying to be the ideal girlfriend.

"Ha! They're even cute! Look, I have a little rabbit," he chuckled as he held up an apple slice with rabbit ears. I was ready to kill him.

We sat on the roof because I was already embarrassed enough from earlier when I had to ask him out for lunch.

I never went to the third floor where all the seniors were at since I never had a reason to before. His class was 3-B and even if I didn't know that information, I would have figured it out by all the screaming fangirls. Seriously, did girls not have anything better to do than to stare at him?

Then again, I was probably worse.

Thankfully, the girls and most of the seniors knew I was his "girlfriend," so they made way for me to pass into the classroom. Unfortunately, they also knew I was his "girlfriend," so then proceeded to be unbelievably hostile towards me, like muttering darkly, and glaring at me and such. When I was at the door of the class, I spotted him with Krad-sempai and other seniors I did not know. Naturally, he was surrounded by girls from his own class. For some reason, this made me…anxious? Nervous?

Who knows?

Well, Krad-sempai spotted me and pointed me out to Dark. Dark looked over, raised his eyebrows, then smiled and made way to talk to me. The females nearly hissed. He did not seem to be fazed by this kind of attention at all. Yet, I have some to realize that Dark was like this always; he played it cool all the time, without breaking a sweat. Bastard.

"Riku-chan," he said as he ruffled my hair. I scowled, unsure about this form of touching. Plus, the girls nearly howled. Oh, if looks could kill... "What brings you here for lunch?"

"I wanted to...do something?" I mumbled under my breath, but he heard anyway. He looked very intrigued.

"What is it?"

I sighed and pulled out a lunch box that I was hiding behind me. My face was unbelievably red, but still, I said what I came to say. "I…wanted to eat lunch…together."

Which brings us to where we are now. Dark looked ridiculously happy that I made him lunch (no lie. When he saw the box, he took it wordlessly and began to look at it as if it were golden, or something. I was not sure how to feel about that), and was now adding his commentary to every single piece of food I made.

"You don't have to eat it if you don't want to!" I finally yelled. His violet eyes twinkled as he looked at me in a…soft…way?

"I never said I didn't want to. It's just real cute, Riku-chan's cooking." He ate come of the shrimp in there. "I am honestly very happy!"

And he meant it too; that much I could tell. And the worst part? It was that knowing this made me blush even more. "I was just trying to be a good girlfriend."

"A good girlfriend?" he perked up.

"You're doing your best to help me with this crazy charade. The least I could do is be better at it."

"You don't really have to try." He smiled at me. "I like Riku-chan the best when she acts the way she always does."

"Sempai…why do you only use chan in my name?" I asked him very seriously. He stopped chewing.

"Why, does it bother you?"

"Not in particular. I was just curious. I never hear you calling anyone else that." Risa's earlier words were echoing in my brain.

He contemplated on that for awhile before giving me another one of his smirks.

"How about this? I'll tell you when you come to one of my shows?"

"Shows?"

"Art show," he explained. "Next week, my friend Krad is going to have all my work on display in one of his dad's museum. Usually, one or two of my stuff gets recognition, but this show is going to be solely dedicated to yours truly."

I was too shocked to speak. Seriously?

"So this is actually a big deal. I would really like it if you came, Riku-_chan_," he emphasized. "Then I'll tell you, alright?"

I did not want to seem to enthusiastic about it, so I only nodded. But for some reason, I was actually very excited. I never had an opportunity to see art shows or anything like that. Not telling him, I was secretly pleased.

This pleasant feeling only lasted a couple minutes because Risa came up to find us as we were finishing up our lunch.

"Dark, Riku," she greeted us very curtly. "I was thinking so we are each dating each others' siblings, why don't we all have some fun so we don't feel weird about it?"

Dark placed an arm around me very casually and smiled. "Like what?"

Risa did not miss the movement. "A double date!" she exclaimed with rather forced cheerfulness.

"Double date," both Dark and I asked in confusion.

* * *

"This is a bad idea—I can feel it." I was telling this to Dark as I hung from his windowsill while my legs were on a strong branch from the tree outside his bedroom.

"Not as bad as hanging from a windowsill," he commented while he was doing push-ups.

"I'm fine," I assured him. "I just don't think this double date is a good idea. I have a really bad feeling about this. A very, very, bad feeling."

"Not really. Dai-chan and your sister are not exactly criminal masterminds. I wouldn't really worry about it."

"I'm not concerned about Niwa-kun, it's my sister I'm worried about. Did you forget how we got into this situation we're in? When my sister wants something, she'll go for it without blinking an eye; underestimating her is huge mistake."

"What's the worst that can happen?" he asked as he finished and sat facing me.

"I don't know, but that is what is killing me!" I said very frustrated.

"Not knowing?"

"Precisely, I really hate not knowing. I like things to be in control."

"You cannot control everything, Riku-chan. Feelings, situations, people…they cannot be controlled."

I sighed. "I know."

He stood up and walked until he was in front of me. He leaned down and smirked again. My chest hit me hard.

"Isn't this reversed? Shouldn't the guy be the one outside the window?" he asked, grinning.

My face flushed instantly. "Shut up."

His hand grabbed my hand and pulled me up so that he carried me. With another hand, he was touching my cheek—it felt like fire.

"Another kissing lesson is needed don't you think?" he asked, obviously enjoying the fact that I was blushing like some of his fans.

I gulped and nodded while muttering, "I guess."

He laughed lowly and then waited for me.

"Wait? I have to start it?" I asked incredulously.

"It'd be nice," he commented. I sighed and bit my lip.

He noticed my anxiety, and his eyes softened. "I won't laugh."

I shook my head. "Liar, you totally will."

"How could I?"

"How _couldn't _you?"

"Because you're Riku-chan is why I could never laugh."

I sighed again, but with some resolve. I gulped and leaned my face in closer to his. As our lips neared, I could feel his hot breath and suddenly, I felt like I was sweating. What was this?

It felt like hours, but I finally managed to kiss him, very slowly and very chastely. Quickly, he lightly bit my lower lip and we broke away, looking at each other.

"See, I did not laugh," he said with a restrained voice. My heart was working overtime, beating more and faster than I was used to it going. What was this?

"I know…um…thanks," I said lamely and in a very quiet voice. Any louder and I may just do something very stupid.

Again, he surprised me. Suddenly, he was hugging me very tightly, so much that I could not think. My mind drew a blank and it was then I realized that he was only in his wife beater and sweats. His body felt strong and hard as he held me like I was a precious piece of life. The blood in my veins was burning with this intense fire it seemed and being this close to him felt hotter. What was this?! The fire was suffocation and I could not find any way to get my lungs to work; I was having trouble breathing.

"Don't worry about tomorrow," he told me, still holding me. "I'll protect you from anything, even if it's from your sister."

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_short chapter, I know, but hopefully next one will be make up for it. lalala..._


	4. Chapter 4

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_**ToGetHer**_

_**Chapter Three**_

_**a/n: **__haha, it's been awhile. Sorry about that, but I may be able to update more frequently now. Yay? Well, a lot of people seem to like this story, which was surprising to me at first. I did not think that DN Angel fandom was still very active, nor did I really think there were a lot of DarkxRiku shippers. But I am happy that you all enjoy this. Now, onto the story!_

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There are certain perks to being Dark's girlfriend (real or not). One perk is that as much as the female population hates you and says stuff behind your back, they cannot touch you for fear of Dark's wrath. Another is that boys don't do stupid things around you like making perverted comments about how you look in your gym uniform or something since Dark will hear about it and kick their asses. There is also the perk of never having to pay for anything, even if it's something small as sweets from some club's bake sale, because Dark liked to show off his gentleman manners.

The best perk was probably getting to still be me while 'dating' Dark. Because there was no pretending with him, so I was free to do whatever I pleased. The relationship was not real, so there was no real need to compromise my character. I did not have to bend backwards to please him, or hold in any complaints so as to not make him hate me. When I was upset, I let him know. If something bugged me, he listened. He did not become my world.

This perk also made me a little weird since this was not how I acted around Niwa-kun. And let me tell you, this realization was unpleasant when it made itself known to me. While I liked Niwa-kun, I was not myself around him. Don't get me wrong—Niwa-kun knew how I was. But I was less of it. I didn't act as violent or rash. I did not nag as often, or laugh at things I found funny that no one else seemed to.

So when I realized it, I was upset, which explains why I was less than happy to see Dark.

Because in a way, I was happy to see him. That is not to say that there was anything special about seeing him! It's just that seeing him was not as unpleasant as it once was before.

"Riku-chan is thinking too hard," he said and he poked my forehead. "Your pretty head will be filled with wrinkles."

I gave him a look. "What does that matter to you?"

"It doesn't," he stated simply. He only grinned and wrapped one arm around my shoulder. "It does not matter to me if you get all wrinkly. It won't change how I see you."

See, it's stuff like that that makes me all queasy in the stomach area. "Nice to know," I could only say sarcastically.

"So, are you nervous about this weird double date?"

Yes! Right after school, we all had to go on this double date, which I know was going to end badly. Namely because I had a feeling that someone was going to do something stupid—that someone being me. Also, it happened to be my first date. Which was not even going to be real, so I am panicking for no reason, but I digress. Anyway, considering how messed up the situation was going to be, I did not expect our double date to go off smoothly.

Not that I kept quiet about this. Oh no, I complained to my so-called-boyfriend every time I saw him. He would only just listen wearing his stupid grin like he was in on some joke that I did not know about. Which is annoying, to say the least, because I wanted to be just as relaxed and nonchalant about the whole thing like him.

As we rode to meet Niwa-kun and Risa on Dark's bike, he kept laughing at my anxiety, which I did not appreciate in the least.

"That isn't being very good boyfriend-y, you know," I retorted, still holding on to his waist while he pedaled.

"I hate to laugh, but I just find it cute that you're so concerned about this," he answered cheerfully. I couldn't he his face, but he must have been smiling away, the idiot.

"I have good reason to be concerned!"

"Don't you remember last night?" he asked seriously. I blushed and was thankful he couldn't see. After our kissing "lesson," I was very set on blocking it from memory. Not because it was bad or anything, but because…well, I was not sure.

"Not really," I lied.

"I told you I'd protect you from anything. So just relax and let your nice, handsome boyfriend make sure that you'll be fine," he said very confidently. It was strange when he said these things.

We arrived at the café a little earlier since we were on a bike. Dark and I sat down in a booth, waiting for the other couple. Tons of girls gawked at him, which was uncomfortable to me; it made me feel inadequate.

"Sempai, how come you don't date?" I asked randomly. Dark looked at me incredulously, as if he did not expect such a question.

"Never cared for it," he stated simply. "Is Riku-chan curious to know more about me?"

"No!" I yelled defensively. "It was a passing thought, nothing more!"

"I wonder, why Riku-chan doesn't really date," h said in an off-tone voice, as if he were in thought. I flushed.

"You know why?"

"Because of my brother? But you could have still pursued a relationship with someone else."

"True, I guess. But…I've always wanted to be in a relationship with someone I truly cared for." Saying this made me feeling foolish.

But Dark only smiled warmly. "We have that in common."

I had hoped that was the end of that conversation, but with Dark, I had to expect the unexpected.

"And what about our relationship now?"

I couldn't answer him. It was as if my voice box called out, "That's it! Game over!" and left me on my own. What was our relationship now? Dark and I weren't exactly friends previous to this; we were something of acquaintances. He was just the elder brother of someone I was friends with, not someone I talked to on a daily basis. Sure, we used to bicker (more from my side anyway), but in a weird way, this fake relationship was making us closer in a sense, and I haven't decided fully if I liked it or not.

Thankfully, I didn't have to answer because Niwa-kun and Risa joined us, holding hands. "Hello!" my sister greeted cheerfully while Niwa-kun smiled politely. I narrowed my eyes; something had upset Risa, and I was not sure if it was me.

"Dai-chan, Risa-san, nice to see you," Dark greeted back, grinning. I forced out a smile.

"Dark-nii, did you and Harada-san order?" Niwa-kun looked at Dark fixedly, completely ignoring me. What the hell?

Next to me, Risa fidgeted. Giving her a look of concern, she only shook her head. It took me a few seconds to realize this was the most friendly we've been to each other in a while.

"We didn't; Riku-chan wanted to wait, so we got drinks instead."

I sipped on my soda, trying to adjust to the awkward tension. Dark must have sensed it too because he asked my sister to switch seats with him. After some grumbling on Risa's part, Dark was next to me, with one arm around my shoulder. He whispered, "Stifling, isn't it?"

I had to smile. Despite the fact he was a pervert and a weirdo, he had a knack for relieving some of my tension. Unfortunately, I felt Risa's anger just a few seconds later. I knew I was in for a long date.

Niwa-kun shocked me though, when he was the one who interrogated us. And by us, I mean Dark. I'm sure he was aware of his brother's escapades and maybe he was concerned for me (a girl can dream), but even I felt he was a bit too inquisitive, even by normal standards.

"Dark-nii, what are your intentions with Harada-san?" he asked bluntly.

"Daisuke-chan!" Risa exclaimed in his frankness. I too, felt a bit blown away.

"Dai-chan, are you Riku-chan's father? I have pure intentions with her—not that it's really any of your business," Dark replied, with a usual smirk, but there was something more sinister in his voice. Niwa-kun's eyes flashed in retreat for a second, but stayed firm.

"I just think it's strange, Dark-nii, that _now _you have a girlfriend after years of dedication on remaining unattached."

"People can change." Dark's hands balled into fists.

"But for the better?" Niwa-kun's hard tone matched his brother's.

"There are things that I don't even tell you, little brother. A certain thing in my life has remained constant."

It was thick, this tension. Risa and I look at each other as if we could avoid it. Was there something that we weren't in on? Some secret between these two brothers that was causing this subtle animosity? Again, I feel as if Risa and I realized at the same time that we did not know them as well as we liked to believe.

Turned out that I need not have worried over Risa and I quarreling, because when the food came, both of us were trying to calm our respected dates. Risa, I could see, was talking softly to Niwa-kun. I only looked at Dark with worry; was he okay?

He read my expression like he always did. With a sigh, he pulled me closer to him and whispered, "It's fine. How about we get out of here?"

I nodded and excused us from Risa and Niwa-kun, both didn't really mind. Dark came back from paying our food and back on the bikes we were.

By the time we were outside, it had gotten dark out, and while I was holding onto his waist, I wondered what he was thinking. What did he worry about? What did he like? What were the dreams he dreamed, and what were the things he wondered about? What did he curious over? What made him mad? Sad? Happy?

"You're quiet back there," he spoke, pedaling at a slower speed than he usually did. He rode for me to enjoy the ride. At this point, I had realized this. In all his mysterious nature, when did he find it natural to think about me and my needs?

"I'm thinking about things," I answered softly, but I know he heard me.

He remained silent, but he took a couple turns that did not lead to any of our houses, but instead the park. It had been awhile since I'd been there, and when he stopped the bike, I got off and gave him a quizzical look. He only smiled that smile again.

"Why don't we play for awhile?"

His idea of playing was pushing me on the swing, as if I were a child. I complained and almost threw a fit, but he just picked me and placed me on the seat, despite my cries. After some cursing from me, I just gave in and let myself be swung. I should have expected this, but it was weird again. His hands were gentle on my back as they pushed me slowly and delicately, making sure he didn't hurt me.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"You," I spoke without thinking.

Instantly he grabbed the swing chains and stopped it, then spun me around so that we could look at each other. I didn't have time to blush at my slip, because his face showed me too many emotions, and I had trouble keeping up. It was surprised, and happy, and hopeful, and scared; they made me dizzy.

"Me?"

"Sempai, what do you worry about? What are your dreams? What are you scared of? What do you want most in the world?" I asked rapidly, the words flowing out so naturally.

He crouched down to my level, his eyes doing this smothering thing he was good at. "Why is Riku-chan asking?"

"I'm curious about you." My eyes went to his lips—I was so happy it was dark outside, because I felt a blood rush, and I must have put cherries to shame.

"I worry about a certain girl because she does things that make men crazy, and she doesn't realize it," he whispered in my ear. I felt his longish hair tickle my cheek. "I dream about being able to show my work and passion to the world. I'm scared of losing someone. And what I want most in the world…"

I closed my eyes, because I was scared of what I would have done if I didn't have any sense of control in me. I felt a pair of lips kiss my forehead, and I opened to find Dark behind me again. As gentle as before, he pushed me to and fro.

"What I want most is for a certain girl to call me by name."

There are certain perks that come with dating Dark, real or not. And one of the best is that he shows you his real self.

Only thing is, I cannot seem to remember whether or not I disliked it.

And I couldn't remember when was the last time I thought about Niwa-kun seriously.

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_tra la la_


	5. Chapter 5

_**ToGetHer**_

_**Chapter Five**_

_**a/n:**__ Did I say I would update soon? Well I lied. But this chapter is pretty emotional, so enjoy the read. _

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Whenever I felt uneasy, I used to be able to talk to my sister about things. Like how uneasy I was about the end of the date Dark and I had. When he kissed my forehead, it felt much more personal and intimate than when we kissed on the lips. Which is weird, because how is kissing the forehead more special than kissing on the lips? I don't have an answer. So I was uneasy with all these thoughts and questions in my head, and there was nothing more I wanted to do than to tell someone about all this, but Risa was not speaking to me. Then there was that ticket—the ticket to Dark's gallery show. He gave it to me when he dropped me off at home, and it was then that I realized how bad my heart clenched when he waved good bye.

Which was a very disturbing feeling. Very, very disturbing.

And I so wanted to something, anything and everything to get these feelings away from me.

Which still did not explain how I ended up in front of Dark's house. I was once again getting unbelievably mad at myself because I used to call it _Niwa-kun's _house.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear; Niwa-kun had come out, calling my name in a surprised tone, "Harada-san? What are you doing here?"

"Here" was right outside the fence of his house, where I was currently sitting by, contemplating on my own inner turmoil. "Do you want me to get my brother?"

"No!" I yelled. If Dark came out, who knows what would have happened? "I was just...Niwa-kun, I don't even know what I am doing here."

Niwa-kun smiled sympathetically and sat down next to me. "Say what's on your mind; I'll listen."

"...I think...I intentionally was not serious when I first started going out with Dark." It was embarrassing to confess this, but Niwa-kun did not seem to judge me.

"And now?"

"I don't know."

Niwa-kun sighed and closed his eyes; for a moment, his face resembled that of his older brother's. It was refined, and manly. It was the bit of Niwa-kun that attracted me in the first place.

"Harada-san, may I ask why you initially went out with Dark-nii?"

I gulped. How was I to explain all of it to the person who was central to the reason? I didn't want to reveal my sister's reason for why she was dating him, and I didn't want to reveal that Dark also knew that his younger brother was being lied to and was going along with my crazy plan to teach my sister a lesson. "My reasons are complicated, Niwa-kun? But now it's different."

"How so?"

"I can't seem to think straight, really. And my chest hurts when I see him, and when I don't. And I wonder about him. And I get curious. And...ah! I don't know." I buried my head in my hands, mortified and the things that spewed out of my mouth. In front of Niwa-kun, nonetheless.

"Harada-san...you kind of....more than _like _Dark-nii." Niwa-kun said this very sadly. I was not sure why, but I did not really have the capacity t question it, seeing as how I got defensive.

"What?" I flushed. "What on earth makes you say that I actually more than like that pervert! That arrogant playboy--!"

"Harada-san!" Niwa-kun interrupted me, his hands on my shoulders; I didn't even realize I had been standing up in my flustered, mini rage. "Yes, you do. And since you both are dating, that is a good thing, I guess."

"But...why do you say that?"

"Because I get that way about two people." He smiled half-heartedly.

"Two people?" I caught that part of his sentence.

Niwa-kun came closer and kissed my forehead, almost the way Dark did it just a couple hours earlier. Before I could even protest or respond, he walked back inside his house.

* * *

I ran as fast as I could to the other side of the house, where his room was. I climbed a couple of branches, and hung outside his window. I knocked as hard as could. Luckily, Dark opened it quickly, looking like he was just slapped in the face. "Riku-chan?!"

"Help me in!" I yelled at him, feeling my hands getting sweaty. He leaned over, and grabbed my waist, and gently pulled me into his room. I noticed that he was wearing his glasses, and his desk had a bunch of newly developed pictures with notes. He must have been working on his photography.

He was also only wearing sweatpants, but I tried not to let that get to me.

"Riku-chan? What's wrong, is everything okay?"

I felt completely out of breath, and I spoke in fragmented thoughts. "Niwa-kun likes someone other than my sister—also my sister, or something. And he also...my forehead! And he was also saying how I feel a certain way, and I didn't believe him, but now I think he was right, and now I don't know why I am even doing this--!"

"Riku-chan, what are you talking about? My brother said what to you? Are you okay?"

I can't really explain why it is that I did what I did. Maybe it was what Niwa-kun said to me. Maybe it was the way Dark was treating me earlier. Maybe it was because both brothers kissed my forehead. Maybe it was a loss of sanity. Whatever the reason, it did not hinder the fact that I threw myself at Dark's lips.

We've kissed before. Many times, whether I wanted to or not. But this time, I put in all my effort, all my emotion, all my sense into kissing him. I was not allowing myself to hinder whatever feelings I was feelings because more than anything in the world, I wanted to know something. Did I still like Niwa-kun? Or did I seriously fall for Dark, his older brother.

What surprised me, though, was that Dark, who has always been a fantastic kisser, had been holding back on me before. This time, however, he too was giving it his all, and I did not realize the extent of his feelings, let alone for me. The words that he was trying to express to me were loud and clear. His kisses told me a lot, of his wants, his needs, his joy, his triumph, his disbelief; it was as if I were seeing him naked for the first time.

At first, I did not know what to do with my hands, but they had minds of their own, and they went around Dark's neck as he leaned in closer to my height. I felt one of my hands go into his hair, curiously feeling the texture of it. Briefly, I thought how beautiful his hair felt. At one point, one hand was on his chest, making me fully appreciate how muscular and powerful he was under all of that flesh. Thinking about it made me feel possessive, like I wanted no one else to have their hand on his chest like I did.

I could also feel him smiling as he was kissing me, and one arm was wrapped about my waist, pulling me closer, while the other had his hand on my head, pushing my lips closer to him as well. His teeth sometimes bit my lower lip, and he would chuckle when I gasped. His eyelashes would occasionally tickle my cheeks when he would tilt to lick my lips before enveloping them into more kisses. The whole experience was baffling, and overwhelming that it took all my will to tell my body not to cry.

I pushed myself away when I felt that will crumbling. I quickly turned around to not face him, my cheeks burning from the blushing, and my lips slightly swollen from the moment we just had shared. My breathing was erratic too. I think I had forgotten to breathe. When I felt like I was composed enough to face him, I turned to him again, and that will I had slowly was falling apart.

Dark looked just as flustered as I did. His cheeks were unusually red, and I saw that he had been sweating. His fingers were at his lips—also swollen—as if he could not be sure if mine were just on them a moment ago. His chest was heaving as he was breathing slowly since he also must have been out of breath. His eyes were intense and on me, filled with this adoration, this _love _that I could grasp my mind around.

Especially if it was because of _me._

And then things started to make sense. Like how he always called me by my name as if we were close. The way he so readily accepted my stupid request, even though he knew it was crazy. The way he protected me, and understood me, and cared for me. It all made _sense_. Because while I was watching Niwa-kun all that time, Dark was watching _me_.

And I knew it was almost inevitable that I would return the feelings.

And I had never been more scared of anything my entire life.

"Sempai..."I tried to begin.

"Dark," he said. "Can you...can you try calling me Dark—by my name?"

"_When will you start calling me Dark?" _

"_The day I actually love sempai."_

Oh, I was so stupid.

"I don't think I can, sempai..."I answered him slowly. His eyes narrowed slightly. Not in anger but more in frustration.

"You can't?"

"I don't really know."

"You don't know?"

"This is all very sudden for me, okay!" I yelled. I could feel the tears ready to burst. "This is a lot for me, and I don't have any precedent for this kind of thing, so I don't know!"

"Then why did you knock on my window? Why did you kiss me like that? Why, if you don't know?"

"I. Just. Don't. Know!"

He ran one hand through his hair, aggravated. My hands were rubbing my temples.

"It's been you," he said suddenly, looking at me with that intensity again. "It's always been you—all this time, only you! The moment you came into my life, I couldn't see anyone else but you!"

I had to blink rapidly because that confession almost sent me over the edge, and I did not want to cry.

"Riku-chan," he said more softly. "All this time, I have loved you. I love you."

That was it. Game over. I started to cry.

"Look, all this time I thought I was madly in love with Niwa-kun!" I exclaimed through tears. "And I thought I was serious about him, but now I don't even know anymore! I think about you way too much, and I don't know if that's because of the time we've spent together, or because it's always been like that, and I just don't know! And what about Risa? Risa likes you so much, and even thinking about liking you feels like I am betraying her in some way, and I know it's sick and twisted because I originally went out with you to get back at her—but now I don't know if I am even pretending! I don't know what's real and what isn't!"

"It's all been real for me. From the beginning, it's been _me _this entire time." He spoke this with such firmness, I knew I could not doubt it.

"Well, it was not for me. At least, not right away...look, I just don't know! How can you ask me if I love you when I don't know anything about anything anymore? I feel like this morning, I knew who I was, what I was doing, and who I was doing it for, and now it's past midnight and suddenly, I can't even recognize myself anymore!"

"You're still Riku-chan! And don't you realize that you feel the same way about me?!" His frustration was back again; it wanted me to realize.

"How is it that you know that but I don't?! You can't tell me that what I am feeling is love!"

"I've been in love with you for over two years, so I know; that's love. That feeling in your throat, like you're swallowing needles."

I was almost taken aback by his revelation that he felt this way for such a long time now. "You're only eighteen, and I'm just sixteen! How can you say that you know what love even is, what it feels like?"

"Because it's the most painful feeling in the world, but you don't want it to go away. Because somehow, it makes you happier and more alive than you ever thought possible." His voice was so gentle, so soothing. I sniffed and looked down.

"Sempai," I spoke, but sensed him wince at this word. "I need to think about things. I need to...figure things out. I won't be going to school—I'll call in sick. So, I will see you when I see you. Don't call me, I'll call for you."

And I left. But as I climbed back down the window, I heard Dark slam his fist on his desk.

And when I was away from him, I felt my heart hurt, and like I had swallowed millions of sharp needles.

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_bit of a personal question: has anyeone been in love. When I had my first love, it was more like constantly being kicked in the chest, but i didn't mind the pain. Maybe certain people are masochists when in love._

_xoxo  
_


	6. Chapter 6

_**ToGetHer**_

_**Chapter Six**_

_**a/n: **__an update? So soon? Who am I, and what have I done to Cherrie?! Haha, don't get too comfy there, everyone! I don't know when the next update will be._

_Note: This fic is going to be either 8 or 9 chapters. Maybe 10. In any case, it's almost finished. Gah! Anyway, this is a RikuxRisa chapter because...well...I kinda missed her. Haha. There's no Dark here. Which makes me sad in pants. Whatever, let's get on with it!_

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I cried until my eyes wouldn't open anymore. I cried because when I got under my covers, and thought about everything, I realized everything. I realized that Dark really did love me for all that time, and I was too busy staring at Niwa and wishing I were as feminine as my sister to notice. Dark was a flirt, but he was actually nice, loyal, and considerate, but I was too blinded by what I saw in the surface to see it. I realized that while I was pretend dating him, Dark had loved me the entire time, and I was playing with his emotions. It was exactly what Risa was doing. No, it was worse. Because at least Risa treated Niwa-kun better. It made me feel worse than dirt. It made me feel like I was a tiny flea, an insignificant flea.

When morning finally came to, Risa knocked and came into my room. I was under the covers, so I couldn't tell what her reason for coming to my room was. Pre-Dark, she came here all the time, but it was different now.

"Are you sick?" she asked with what was the nicest tone of voice she's used on me since we fought. I really missed her.

"Riku...I know you were crying last night. I wanted to talk to you then, but I didn't because I heard you..."

Great, she knew I cried. She probably thought Dark and I broke up or something. Thinking about him made me upset again, and I felt another fresh wave of tears ready to break. Was I always this pathetic, or was this a new development? Wonderful; I was losing my sense of independence.

"Actually, I was going to come in and yell at you," Risa said with s small chuckle, but I could tell that she found nothing funny. "I was going to barge in here and yell at you, saying that you were underhanded, selfish, and out to hurt me."

Wow, she was right on the money with this one. Still under the covers, I listened to my sister being right for the first time in her life. No, maybe she was right about a lot of things, but I was too arrogant—too damn full of myself—to know it.

"I was going to say all that because I was so mad at you because...and you are going to laugh at me when I tell you this, but...I was jealous." She laughed without mirth again. I threw the covers off me when she told me this. Risa was right next to me, dressed in our school uniform. She smiled at me.

"You look awful," she commented.

"Then avoid mirrors," I shot back. It was time to get out of bed to see how horrid I did really look. I walked into the bathroom. Risa was right about this too; I looked awful. My eyes were unbelievably swollen and red. The dried tears were all over my cheeks. To top it all off, my short hair was all over the place. "Risa, I'm going to shower. Can we talk after you go to school."

"No! If you're skipping, so am I!" I heard her yell from my room. "I'm changing out of this then!"

Even though I washed myself thoroughly and brushed until my gums bled, I still felt very mucky. When I got back to my room, clad in my towel, Risa was gone from it so I was able to get some clothes.

After a couple of minutes, Risa came in dressed in a skirt and tee carrying a tray of tea and sweet bread. She set in down on the small table that was in my balcony. "Can we eat here?"

"I thought we were in a fight. Sisters in a fight aren't supposed to be having tea together," I told her as I put on a sweatshirt.

"Nonetheless, we're sisters," she explained simply. My eyebrows rose at her deep comment, but I didn't say anything as I sat down. After taking a sip of tea and a bite from the bread, I decided to ask her questions.

"So why were you set on yelling at me last night?" I asked between chews. Risa sighed heavily.

"So...our double date was rather...interesting, wasn't it?"

She had no idea. "No kidding."

"Well, I thought Daisuke-kun was acting too weird, so I asked him what was wrong." She fiddled with her finger.

"So?"

"He just kept going on and on about how worried he was that Dark was just playing with you—and it took a lot out of me to not expose you right then and there!—and how you didn't deserve it. He wouldn't really quit talking about it. It made me mad that while I was there, he only talked about you."

I had a sinking feeling about this. It suddenly seemed very easy to tell which direction this was going...

"And you know what else? This is not the first time that he's been concerned about you. This entire time, he's been wondering how you were—asking me questions. 'How's your sister? Is Harada-san alright?' It was making me upset. How can someone who has supposedly liked me for so long be concerned over my sister while dating _me_? And then it hit me: Daisuke-kun likes my sister! He _likes _my twin sister! How could I have been so stupid to not notice?!"

Though this should have made me happy, it didn't, and with this new revelation, I felt worse about how I treated that flirtatious playboy. I gulped down my tea, even though I knew it was too hot, and it burned my throat. I then remembered Dark's comment about the needles, and how I felt them all the time now. I was getting worse than pathetic. I was getting sick because of love.

"But here's the real kicker—the part where you're going to laugh." Risa giggled almost sarcastically. I could tell this was taking its toll on her. She was hurting bad and needed to talk to me as much as I needed to talk to her. "I was getting so mad and upset at you and Daisuke-kun because of this until I realized last night that I had no reason for being mad. After all, I only went out with Daisuke-kun because I liked Dark. Nothing else, right?"

No, that was not it. I caught it. It was clear to me why she was so upset.

"You used 'like.' As in past tense," I noted. Risa smiled weakly.

"Yep, past tense," she declared. She finished her tea, set down her cup with force, and chocked out a sob. "Past tense, Riku. I am upset because...I think I've fallen for Daisuke-kun!"

Oh, Riku. We are twins after all.

She started sobbing into her hands. "I've seriously fallen for him. I couldn't help it; it was different than I expected it. I never noticed how nice he was, how considerate he was...to me. And he did it without hesitation. He's nice by nature; he does good things so easily, like breathing. And then he's deep. He doesn't think about stupid, perverted things like the kids in our class. Did you know he wants to be painter? He wants to paint the world; he wants to travel and paint all the controversial parts of the world that governments don't want us to see. Isn't that amazing?"

So Niwa-kun was into photography? Seems like the brothers were artistically inclined. I didn't know that about Niwa-kun, and it struck me how little I knew about him in the first place.

"But he likes you! I'm sorry, Riku! I'm not mad at you, honest, but it...it hurts!" Her cries were wrenching to me, especially since I understood.

"He still likes you," I told her gently. She picked her head up and looked hopefully at me. Yes, it was clear. My sister was in love.

"How do you know?" Her voice had gotten very hoarse.

"Because he told me himself."

"When?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. It was time I told Risa everything, the way I used to before we started this stupid argument.

So I told her. I told her how I crushed on Niwa-kun in our second year of middle school. I told her how he told me that he liked her for a long time and wanted to pursue her in high school, so I never confessed my feelings to him. I told her that it was the reason I was so mad at her for using him—because I liked him so much. I told her how I went to Dark to help me with my stupid, immature plan to get back at her. I told her how he knew I was pretending with him, and how he knew that she was with Niwa-kun because of him. Then I told her how Dark stole my first kiss, and how I learned to kiss properly because of him. And I told her how when he kissed me, I could feel it all the way down to my toes, and I couldn't breathe properly for a few minutes. I told her how he found my homemade bentos cute, and how he ate everything I made him. I didn't forget to tell her that he rode his bike slowly for me, and that he hated it when girls talked bad about me because of him. I told her that he had a bunny named Wiz that he loved dearly, and how he didn't get mad at me when I told him it didn't go with his image.

More importantly, I told her how he confessed to me. I told her that he loved me for over two years, and that from the get go, he had been sincere with me. I told her how he kissed me without inhibitions, and how that kiss still made me shiver when I thought about it. I told her how I threw myself at him, and how I thought he had beautiful hair. I told her how smothering his eyes were, and how my throat swallowed needles when I spoke his name because it hurt.

I told her how I fell in love with Dark Mousy, half, older brother of Daisuke Niwa.

"Oh, Riku..." Risa came near me and hugged me. Then we both started bawling like little babies, hugging each other. We were both so stupid and selfish girls. But we both learned a little. And better than that, we had each other. It was like before. Risa and Riku were twins; she was a part of me, and I a part of her. We kept missing each other, but somehow, we found each other again.

"So...what do we do now?" I asked, laughing while wiping her tears with my hand.

"I don't know." She shrugged, also wiping my tears with her hand. "We really got ourselves into a big mess."

"Yeah, but some good came out of it."

"What's that?"

"I missed you, Risa," I said. She grinned.

"I missed my big sister too!"

And like that, we were back. It was a beautiful feeling. There were times that I disliked Risa, times when I felt like kicking her for her actions. Then I knew there were times when she must have found me difficult. Despite all this, we had a bond that could not be broken. We loved each other more than anything.

"So...was Dark really _that _good a kisser?" she asked me with a mischievous grin.

"Ugh! You want to know that?!" I asked incredulously.

She just shrugged. "I crushed on the guy for years. It's natural that I'd be curious about it."

"How is Niwa-kun?"

She bit her lip again. "Do you remember when we had to get our teeth pulled out when we were younger, and we got that laughing gas? Remember how we were all giggly and impossible for hours afterward?"

"Yeah."

"It was kind of like that. It left me giddy for hours afterwards. It was very blissfully sweet."

"Wow...you got it _bad_."

"Says the girl who can feel it all the way down to her _toes_."

I'm sure we would have continued teasing each other if we did not hear the doorbell. We looked at each other then at the clock hanging in the wall inside my room. School had let out.

"I'll go see who it is." Risa got up and left. I went to clean up our mess. As I got everything in the kitchen, and washed the dishes, I heard my sister talking to someone in the living room. Deciding it was best not to bother her, I was heading toward upstairs, back to my room until I recognized the voice and froze.

Why was he here?

Risa came into the kitchen and saw my foot on the bottom step.

"Daisuke-kun is in the living room and wants to talk to you. I'll be in my room if you need me." She hugged me tight and let go. "Good luck."

She rushed past me and climbed up, leaving me alone.

Why was_ he _here?!

And why not Dark?

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_**a/n: **Haha, you know, I appreciate how many people answered my question here. I like you all read my author's note, even if they are boring and make no sense. Personally, I'm going to be sad to see this fic go. Maybe I'll mourn when I actually finish it. Btw, my bday is in 3 days. yay me!  
_


	7. Chapter 7

_**ToGetHer**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**a/n: **__you know what really grinds my gears? Rain in the morning when I am trying to work out. It's like...gah! how am I supposed to run and stuff in the morning when it's pouring?!_

_That being said, I love sunflowers. _

_Oh, and this chapter is short, short, short, short._

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Niwa-kun was in the living room, sitting in the sofa being quiet and making my nerves even worse than they needed to be. I must have been sitting there for at least fifteen, yet he didn't say a word. It was torture and maybe that was his motive. No, that was stupid. This was Niwa-kun for crying out loud. He wouldn't do something so mean to anyone, least of all me since he knows I can beat his butt from here to America. Or maybe because we are friends. Either way, he wouldn't do something so sadistic.

"Ahem, Niwa-kun, not that I am trying to get rid of you or anything, I just want to know why you're here." I winced. It sounded like I was so very much trying to get rid of him. Which I was, but he didn't have to know that.

"Harada-san, about the other night—I'm sorry." He bowed his head. "I shouldn't have spoken so out of line."

"What?" I was surprised. I smiled and waved my hand dismissively. "You didn't say anything wrong or offended me. It's alright."

He didn't say anything for a while, and the awkward silence had returned. It was stifling, and I couldn't help but remember how little I really knew the boy sitting near me.

"Harada-san, we've been good friends, right? I've always thought that." He smiled, his crimson eyes getting scrunched up. "But I feel like you and I really don't know too much about each other."

"I was just thinking the same thing!" I exclaimed. "I didn't know how much I don't know about Niwa-kun, and I wondered how that was possible! Wait...what brought that on?"

"Last night, I fought with my brother," he confessed. I flushed at the mention of Dark. I had it bad. "And after we fought, I realized that I knew so little about you, Harada-san."

How weird it was for him to say all this, because I only just realized this after talking and working things out with my own sister. It made me curious as to what Dark had told Niwa-kun, and vice versa. Obviously, I was mentioned in their argument, but how much so? Was I really that important? And to Dark? It gave me a strange feeling of hope and greedy satisfaction. I was becoming very sick with this, and I knew this would have to get resolved quickly. Only I had a feeling that would only be possible by talking to Dark himself.

"Niwa-kun, what exactly did you fight about?" I asked tentatively.

He didn't answer my question. "We don't even call each other by name. Why is that?"

My eyes widened. This was true. Granted, I often used to get annoyed that I only got the "-san" suffix to my name when Risa was given the "-chan," but I never stopped think as to why I still called Niwa-kun well...Niwa-kun. I had liked him and was friends with him. I should have been able to call him Daisuke-kun by now. But I never did.

"Niwa-kun has always been Niwa-kun, I suppose," I answered rather unsurely. Truthfully, I didn't know anything. It made me feel lost and wondering just how good of friends we were really, and how strong was my crush?

"Riku-san," Niwa-kun said slowly. I looked at him expectantly. "No, I just wanted to try it."

I sighed heavily. "I can't call you by name; I'm sorry. It's not that you aren't my friend, it's just it feels rather...personal to call you by your name right now."

Bless him, he didn't get mad. In fact, he smiled in understand. "I figured since you're like my brother in that sense. That's why he's called you Riku-chan all this time."

I blushed again. "Dark and I are very different, thank you very much!"

Niwa-kun had the gall to start laughing, which only made me redder and grow defensive. He must have noticed by rage rising because he restrained himself into a mild chuckle. "Sorry, but it's true."

"It's not! Dark and I are not alike. He's so...and I'm so...So there!"

"Riku-san, haven't you noticed that you called him by name twice already." He smirked which was strongly reminiscent of his older brother, and I froze. He was right. I used Dark's name.

I sincerely and truly have fallen in love with Dark Mousy.

There was no going back anymore.

"Yeah, I did, didn't I? I guess that means that it's all over for me now." I sounded sad about it, but in truth, I felt this sort of complete happiness; it was as if I managed to accomplish something wonderful for the first time of my life. Being in love was sure complicated.

"I liked you," Niwa-kun confessed, his voice only coming out in a gentle whisper. "I still do in a way. I like how you're loyal to who you love, and how assertive you can be when the situation calls for it. I like how you don't let anyone push you around, and how you never back down from a challenge. I like how sweet you can be when you want to be, especially around Risa-chan. But even though I like so many things about you, I don't know you completely. I don't know your true flaws, so I can't say I like you completely."

"It's the same with me. Niwa-kun, I liked you. At least I thought I liked you. You were and are such a nice guy that is wasn't hard for me to like you, especially since we had become friends. But I think I was in love with the _idea_ of you. I had you as some sort of knight, or prince-like person in my head, that I never really allowed myself to see your flaws." This was not the way I had ever intended to confess to him, but now that the words were coming out so naturally, I didn't want to stop them. It was too refreshing to get this all out finally, after hiding it for too long.

He took it rather well. "I want to know why my brother? Why Dark-nii, of all people. You used to be so against him."

This was such a simple question to answer; it was almost frightening how easy it was to say it aloud. "I didn't really know him. I only focused on his bad traits that I never took the time to know him and how good he really is. You know him better than I do; you know he's not the playboy everyone wants him to be."

"He has had his share of dates, but my brother is not bad. Still, I was angry at him. I didn't know what he was up to when he was dating you. I thought you were some sort of conquest, or some way to get back at me."

"Get back at you?"

"I told him that there was no way he could ever be serious with one girl. Before I was with Risa-chan, it was a sore topic. One day, I got fed up with him after he stood up some girl. He told me he was not really interested in girls, and there was no need to be serious. After I told him off, he got mad at me and said I didn't understand him completely. How was I supposed to know he was crazy about the whole time?"

I flushed again, and let me tell you, it was getting annoying to turn red all the time. So it seemed that Niwa-kun knew everything about his brother now. There was just one more thing I wanted to tell him, wanted to know.

"Are you going to break up with Risa?"

"No, of course not." He looked offended that I would ask such a thing. "I did a lot of thinking and I realized that I am madly in love with Risa-chan; that will not change. We talked things over earlier, and I think we can start over. A fresh start would be good."

"What exactly did my sister say to you?" I asked suspiciously. Did Risa really tell him everything?

"If you are asking whether she confessed that the only reason she dated me was to get to my brother, then yes she did. But I knew that beforehand." He shrugged it off, like it was nothing.

"You did?" This was certainly news to me.

"I had a feeling. I just didn't really want to think about it, or believe it. I was just happy she was with me. I really am a fool. But our relationship was bad. Neither one of us were honest with each other. She never told me of her feelings for my brother, and I didn't tell her about my feelings for you."

I wondered would I have been happier to hear this confession if the situation was different.

Then I thought about it and decided on 'no.' Somehow, this was how it was meant to be. Niwa-kun and I were always meant to be friends, and stay friends. He was right for Risa, and the person who was right for me was none other than that arrogant and flirtatious playboy.

"Now, we're honest, and we're going to give it another shot." He stated this simply, ut happily so. "I'm sorry for the confusion. To make up for it, I brought you the work you missed today."

I just laughed. Niwa-kun was a good guy through and through.

"I'm glad we became friends, Niwa-kun."

And he gave me that smile that used to make my heart pound whenever I saw it. Now, I just smiled with him, my heart calm.

"So, Niwa-kun, I hear you like to paint."

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and getting to know each other. We wanted to become true friends, and everything that we were hiding for a long time was out in the open, the way it should have been from the beginning. As the evening came about, Risa came in and joined our talk. We ordered pizza, and when Niwa-kun left, a glorious feeling of closure was inside me. I knew that he came in here as an old crush and left as a best friend. I was glad that I managed to fix the relationship between me and him, and me and sister's.

Now there was one more person I needed to talk to.

And I wanted to call him by name.

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**_a/n: _**_I had a really crummy day today. my faith in love needs to be restored and writing fanfics is helping. Out of curiousity, how old are the people who read my fics? _

_please review~  
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	8. Chapter 8

_**ToGetHer**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

_**a/n: **__To all who are wondering, I am 20 years old~ Thank you everyone for reviewing and reading. This is the second to last chapter. One more left!!!Oh man, I wonder how I shall end it. I have an idea. It's cheesy, but what hell—why not. _

_This is another short, short chapter. Like super short! Shortcake short. But it gets the job done. _

_And Dark comes back. Yay._

_Happy reading!_

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It's weird how when you know what you want, you don't know how to go about getting it. That was my dilemma. I knew just what—or who—I wanted, but I had no idea on how to get it—or him. Stupid Dark did not go to school at all when I went, and that was awkward. The whole school was wondering about our relationship status, and I tried my best to avoid the gossip, but three third year girls would just line up near my classroom, and my shoe locker.

"So, I hear you and Dark broke up. Thank goodness; he needs a real woman to satisfy him," one particularly busty third year said. She would have been very pretty if she was not so vapid and totally ignorant.

"Um...who _are _you girls?" I was just standing there with a real confused look on my face. How is it that these girls found out my locker and information? Did they not have lives?

"We are members of the Phantom Heart Thief, Dark's Fan Club!" another one declared proudly.

"The _what_?" And I had thought Risa was bad. At least she didn't go around harassing junior students, saying she was part of a fan club. Or maybe she was a part of it, but at least she had some sense of dignity.

"Look, we decide who is worthy of the wonderful and handsome Dark. We let it slide because Dark did not want us to harm you, but he's not here, so the special treatment is over!"

I have no idea what they planned on doing, because they never got a chance to do what they were set on doing to me. I was not planning on taking any crap without a fight. Chances are, I could have kicked these girls' butts—they didn't look like fighters. However, someone threw a soccer ball that hit the lockers behind them. All three jumped up and shrieked.

"Back off, harpies!" One savior yelled. For a brief moment, I had hoped it was Dark, but it was Krad-sempai. He was my classmate, Satoshi's, older brother who was really good friends with Dark. I had never talked to Krad-sempai ever, and his sudden appearance in front of me was more than surprising. The girls back away from me after looking into his glare.

"Um, thank you, Krad-sempai," I said very softly. I bowed as well for good measure. He just gave me one of his rare smiles, his lips twitching upward unfamiliarly.

"Dark asked me to watch after you," he commented, putting his hands back in his pocket. "He's going to be absent until after his art show. He still has tons of work to do."

"He asked you to watch after me?" My voice faltered a bit, almost as if I was going to cry. That stupid pervert was too considerate of me for his own good.

"Yeah. Look, I don't care who you happen to be. But you seem very important to him, so that's all that matters. See you around Harada-chan." He smirked and waved before walking away.

And I knew that if I didn't see that considerate pervert, I would not be able to sleep or eat. Because my thoughts would be too consumed of him. All I wanted to do was see him, talk to him, hold him, and understand him.

I wanted to vomit by thinking that way because really; who am I? When did I start acting like some shoujo manga protagonist? But I guess that's what happens when you're in love. You start acting like a crazy person.

And to demonstrate how much of a crazy person I was acting, I wound up not even going home after school with Risa and Niwa-kun. They both insisted that I take my time and do things at my own pace, but I knew myself. I knew that this was my pace, and this was how I did things—head on without looking back. So I naturally did not act like a sane person. Instead I was walking around Niwa-kun's house like a true maniac. The whole time I was walking around, I was rehearsing what I wanted to say in my head. For one thing, I didn't want to sound like a total dork and say the world's cheesiest lines. I was not smooth enough to pull them off without sounding corny. I also did not want to fumble and end up doing something stupid like punch him and run away—something I saw myself doing.

I must have walked around that block for hours, because the sun was setting, and my feet were starting to kill me. After I felt like I was going to have blisters and my stomach rumbled, I figured that it was a good as time as any to talk to Dark.

Only, I saw Towa-sempai in his bedroom through the window. She was this cute but almost beautiful girl in his class that always seemed to be rather sane and well liked. It was hard not to with her bubbly smile, big eyes, and short bobby, blonde hair. She was also very smart, and artistically inclined. Inside, I couldn't hear anything, but she was speaking very fast, her eyes on something she was studying. I could see him talking back to her, looking at something in his hands, wearing his glasses and some casual clothes. I don't know what happened because I started to cry. It was stupid, but I couldn't help it; the tears just poured out of me.

I was seriously sick.

Because I had no reason to cry. In truth, I felt very jealous. I knew that he had a reputation, but that did not matter to me. After some time, I didn't even think much of it. They did not even do anything remotely sexual or flirtatious, but I felt like I had been replaced. I wanted no other girl to be near him, which made me realize that I was just like those three crazy third years in the way I was acting. Realizing this made me cry some more, and I guess I must have gotten loud, because he heard me.

That's right; Dark heard me. I looked up and gasped as he was staring back at me with those dark crimson eyes that were guilty of making me lose breath. Those eyes that knew me and read me with such ease were staring back into my own. Dark's face looked shocked, and I could see that his body was moving as if he wanted to catch me.

That was not going to happen.

It was not happening because I broke off into a sprint. I ran and ran until my sides started to hurt. I took so many turns to make sure to lose him, and my heart was beating from the exhilaration. I did not stop until I reached the park—the same one he took me to after our double date with our respective siblings. That same park where he kissed my forehead and it was more intimate than anything else he had done to me. My feet moved to that swing. I sat down and moved lethargically. With my mind swirling, I began to calm down a little, but I still could help but cry. I was so stupid for being so immature. He was right in front of me, but the words did not come out. My feet did not move to him. They went in the opposite direction, running away from what I wanted. I was a mere child afraid of accepting that things had changed.

My stomach grumbled angrily, mad that I hadn't fed myself since late morning. My body was too worn out, and I was mentally exhausted. It was only a matter of time before I walked back to my home. Only thing was I was very scared that I had missed my chance. Because I was the way I always was, and I knew that if I didn't do anything today, I would not have the nerve to do it at all. I was going to lose him.

"Hello, pretty girl." I heard some slurred voice drawl out near me. A drunken man, most likely in his early thirties was stumbling his way over to me. It dawned on me that I was alone in a dark park. "What school are you from? Why don't you let papa here take you home."

I can't tell you how much I hate guys like these. Only I knew that there was no way I would stand much of a chance against a man who bigger than me. I started to run. To my horror, he was chasing me. Only he was not even running. He was still stumbling, but catching up.

"Ah, why am I so worn out?" I asked myself, leaning against some wall. I was faster than this. The man was nearing to where I was. "Oh, right. Because I haven't eaten, and I have been walking all day. Then I ran away from Dark. That's why."

Yes, I was tired from running.

"So I won't run anymore." My name was Riku Harada, and I was not some delicate girl. I was loud, aggressive, and did not take crap from anyone. When I wanted something, I ran headfirst to get it. And I was not about to let some drunk guy stop me or put me down.

I huffed up, and marched to the man, my schoolbag in my hand. When I was near him, I kicked him hard where it hurts. He fell down with a groan, but could not help himself back up on account of my beating him with my bag.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! Do you have any idea what I've been through today?!"I yelled in between blows. "I haven't eaten, my feet are killing me, and I just ran away from this guy I am completely crazy about because I was so stupid! Do you think I have any sort of patience left to deal with crazy perverts like you! I am sick and tired, and I just want to—"

"Riku!" I felt strong arms pull me aside. The owner of the strong arms punched the pervert and with one punch, he was knocked out. Finally, my savior turned to look at me, and he was livid.

"Let's go." He motioned for me to follow him, and I did. We were in front of his motorcycle, and after giving me a helmet, we both got on, and he drove us to the beach. It was very eerie, this silence, and I wanted to say something, but the words were frozen in my throat.

After we got to the beach, he got off his bike, and I took off my helmet. I could tell he was still mad, because he did not look at me.

"What were you thinking?" he asked me in a very low and intimidating voice. I did not answer. "You may not be as fragile as other girls, but you are still a _girl_! That bastard could have gotten you, and who knows what would have happened if I did not get there!"

I did not even argue back because I was so happy. Dark was angry, but I did not care. I was just happy he was here and that I was near him again. He paced back and forth to qualm his rage, but the vein in his arms popped with irritation.

"And what were you thinking being alone at night! You don't know how many people walk around looking for cute girls to molest! Do you even think about that?! Do you understand how worried I was! I don't think you understand what a danger magnet you are!"

"I...wanted to say something." My voice was very quiet, but he heard me.

"Wait until I am finished, because you need to understand, Riku-chan, that not everyone in this world gets off easy! You could have been kidnapped, or rapped, or killed, and you don't even seem to _care_!"

"Dark."

"And what kills me is that you seriously thought you stood a chance. You just walked right up to him! Have you lost your mind?! What would I have done if something happened to you!"

"Dark!"

"What?!" he yelled, then froze. His body relaxed, and his facial expression was softer as he looked at me with disbelieving eyes. "What did you say?"

"Dark," I answered simply, smiling. "That's all I wanted to say."

And that was all I needed to say. Because that all I needed to say to get to him. It was the only thing that would fully explain my feelings and have them reach him.

It was all I needed to say 'I love you.'

And I knew that he understood. Because when he smiled like a child and picked me up, and started kissing me like he was never going to let me go, he briefly stopped to say, "I love you too."

And that was all that mattered.

* * *

**_a/n: _**_zomg, only 1 chapter left. i move back into the dorm tomorrow. so much work~_


	9. Chapter 9

_**ToGetHer**_

_**Chapter Nine**_

_**a/n: **__IT'S THE FINAL CHAPTER! VERY SHORT AND CHEEZZZZYYYY!!!_

_Enjoy~_

_

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_

They say it's safer if in a relationship if the guy likes the girl more. If you had asked me weeks ago, before I was Dark's girlfriend, I would have agreed. However, now that I understand what love is, I can say that in a true relationship, you have to be equal. The girl and guy must love each other with the same passion, fire, and fervently. Only then can both have a complete understanding of each other.

I know, I know. I have become a total cheese ball. But whatever, it happens. I am totally okay with it.

Risa and Daisuke had the world's cutest relationship. It was the perfect, shoujo manga relationship, where he waited for her after school to walk he home, and she would bring him a homemade lunch (even though Risa cannot cook, but Daisuke would eat all that she made anyway).

Meanwhile, our relationship—Dark's and mine—was a bit stranger. In the week, we managed to be the world's oddest pair. Now that we were ourselves, we did not have those forced cutesy moments. We argued, we threw tantrums, but then we would hold hands. During the night, he would leave me perverted text messages, and I would send back angry face emocons, and then he'd call me and laugh about it. We didn't go to fancy dates to amusement parks and restaurants. Instead, we'd go to the beach at night and talk. Sometimes he'd take me to museums, and I'd ask to go to music and bookstores. We did things our own way.

Oh, and yeah...we kissed. _A lot_.

And sometimes we did more than just _kiss_. But that's a little private.

Right now, I was at the opening of his private gallery. It was that gallery that his friend, Krad-sempai was opening for him. Originally, I was supposed to go because Dark was going to tell me why he called me "Riku-chan." Since I had a pretty good idea why it was that he always called me that, I decided to come to show my support, him being my boyfriend and all. Risa and Daisuke came along; mostly so that she could make sure I didn't change out of my dress.

That's right; Risa made me wear a _dress_. To give her credit, it wasn't that bad. It was cute and short. It was strapless and just above the knee. It was a navy blue, with a big, black ribbon under the bust and a bow in the back. Nothing too frilly or anything, even if it did reveal more skin than I intended to ever show in my life. But my main complaint was the shoes (black pumps). They killed my feet.

Again, since this was a special occasion, I complied. It was not such a bad thing to dress up every once in awhile.

Especially when my photographer boyfriend was looking really good in a suit. Actually, I don't know how I didn't notice before, but Dark pretty much looked good in anything. Give that guy a potato sack, and he'll make it look like a designer outfit. Not that I would ever tell him that. He'd never let me live it down.

As I looked around, everyone was mingling. My sister was chatting with certain art dealers—probably to help Daisuke—but I could not. I only looked at the photos in display.

I never said I knew a lot about art or photography, but what I saw was beautiful. Dark focused on people, and somehow, through his eyes, the people got through to you. Children's happiness seeped from the photos, a woman's sadness spoke words, and old couple's nostalgia from their past made me smile. It was that photograph I was standing in front of when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around me.

"You like my work?" the owner of the arms asked. I smiled.

"I do. Normally, I would have said something sarcastic, but I can't. I really do admire your gift."

"Well, I'm glad. I'm even gladder at how amazing you look tonight."

"Thank Risa; she insisted I wear this." I pointed to my dress. I felt his eyes look me over. He buried his nose of my hair, which was curled for the occasion.

"Well, then I must thank her. You put my photos to shame."

I blushed madly and coughed. "You know your flattery is no good on me. I rather you just mock me the way you always do."

"That's because you can't take a compliment."

"That's because it makes me uncomfortable."

"You're hopeless."

"You're worse."

"I suppose that's why we make the perfect couple."

"You suppose correct."

He grinned victoriously, and pretended to sigh heavily. Then, Dark stood next to me, grabbing my hand in his. He looked at them intertwined. "Your hand is so tiny compared to mine."

"Your hand is just freakishly large."

He smirked. "So you want to know why I call you 'Riku-chan?'"

I frowned at this. "I thought it was because you always loved me."

Dark smirked at me, like he had a very big secret. "There's more to it."

It was then I noticed that people were staring. Specifically, they were staring at me, with little smiles on their faces, like they just saw something magical. I flushed, and cleared my throat. Many people, who were couple, looked at me wistfully. Women (namely Dark's fans) were staring on in what I recognized as jealously. The attention made me feel awkward.

"Is it all in my head, or is everyone looking at me?" I asked him. He only grinned and pulled me with him.

"It's time I show you the best part of my exhibit."

He led me a different room surrounded by fairy lights and lilies. Pictures were everywhere, framed in the loveliest frames. It was then I realized the romantic atmosphere of this part of the gallery.

"No...way..."I breathed out, unable to fully let it sink in.

"Oh, yes way."

This gallery was dedicated to _me_.

Pictures of me were everywhere: there was me in my high school uniform as I was in class, pictures of me eating, of me cooking when I was at his place, pictures of me looking out a window, of me sleeping, of me laughing, running, sitting in a tree, smiling, waiting at a crosswalk, listening to music, so many pictures of me. Each was taken carefully, with a perfect eye to detail. Some pictures were in color, some in black and white. There was one picture that I remember him taking. We were lying on his bed laughing, and he pulled out his camera. With his arm, he pointed the camera to us, and took a picture. My head was near his neck as one arm was around me across my chest to my shoulder. Our hair was askew, and I was wearing no makeup, and he had his glasses on, but it was us at our most natural. It was just us at our best.

_For Riku Harada. _

_The girl I love, and the only girl that can make me laugh and uncool in bed. _

_ je t'aime  
_

If my face could get any redder, it would have turned purple.

"How dare you write something like that that would make it impossible for me to marry! People are going to assume the wrong thing!" I yelled at him. Dark only laughed.

"Why not? And besides, you're going to end up marrying me, so it's perfectly fine that I write that." He shrugged ever so casually, but I could see a hint of nervousness.

I too gulped a little. "Oh, and what makes you say that?"

His eyes looked at that picture and the writing next to it. Carefully, his fingers brushed across them. "This is why I've called you 'Riku-chan' all this time. Kousuke, Dai-chan's father and my step-dad, calls my mother 'Emiko-chan.' Ever since I was little, I wondered why. Then he told me that it was because she was his darling wife, and that term is a very cute form of endearment, so I shouldn't use it lightly. He said to only use it on the girl I was going to make my wife."

My throat started to hurt in that way whenever my emotions were getting the best of me. "So...since you've met me..."

"I knew that you would be my wife."

"Even though as of now, you're just eighteen, and I'm sixteen, you are convinced I am 'the one?' What makes you so sure that you are the one for me?" I asked this offhandedly, but my chest throbbed violently.

"Look me straight in the eyes and tell me you don't believe it." His crimson eyes smothered, displaying that love he had for me. I could see my reflection in them—the way my eyes mirrored his emotion, showing my love for him.

Damn, that brilliant and magnificent bastard.

"I'm not marrying at sixteen," I told him. I could see his eyes dance in victory. He cleared his throat, pretending to be cool.

"Of course not. I figured when you graduated high school. I'll be twenty; it's a good age," he said as he took my small hand in his freakishly large one.

I laughed merrily, walking with him, hand in hand. "You're so full of it."

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Because we'd always be together.

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_**a/n:**__ I am finally done with this story. I want to thank all of you who stuck for the ride, and put up with my terrible updating patterns. I wanted a original DN Angel fic, and I was not sure if people were going to enjoy it, so I was surprised at the love. I didn't think the fandom was still alive, but you are, and thank you. This fic almost is at 100 reviews, and that's a lot coming from a very little ship fandom~ So thank you everyone. I will be writing more DarkxRiku in the future so please look forward to that._

_Cherrie out~_


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